1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wastewater treatment systems, and more particularly wastewater treatment systems where holding large volumes of sludge for later disposal is difficult. As such, this invention particularly relates to waste water treatment for ships, off-shore structures and platforms other large transportation vehicles, mobile/portable treatment systems (i.e., military support, disaster relief, etc.), remote treatment systems (i.e. highway rest stops, campgrounds, etc.), industrial wastewater treatment, food processing, dairy and other light industrial wastewater treatment applications.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Land-based wastewater treatment solutions tend to occupy relatively large spaces to effectuate wastewater treatment. Space, however, is a premium on transportation vehicles (like cruise ships), mobile treatment systems (such as used in military support), and remote treatment systems (like campgrounds), as well as other similarly situated treatment scenarios.
Ordinarily, wastewater systems combine blackwater and graywater prior to treatment. Blackwater and graywater, however, are very different in terms of chemical makeup (composition, viscosity), volume, perception by passengers and crew, and treatment under the law. For example, blackwater must be treated to a higher standard in most operating areas. Most ships are fitted with vacuum flush systems with blackwater pollutant concentrations much greater than those found in graywater. Shipboard water production, storage and management necessitates costly infrastructure.
Shipboard wastewater systems are typically based on biological treatment. While biological based systems can work, biological systems are complicated to operate, have a large footprint in terms of tankage and deck space, are susceptible to periodic chemical upsets, can be expensive to operate due to costs of chemicals, require provisioning of these chemicals, have long start-up times (order of days) and produce large amounts of sludge.
Finally, discharge of wastewater is regulated. Compliance with regulations can be difficult and may require holding volumes of wastewater for days to complete Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) testing and other compliance testing. If the treated wastewater ultimately fails compliance testing, the process must be continued, which results in lost time and requires larger holding tanks.
Wastewater treatment systems have been disclosed in the following United States or foreign patents: U.S. Pat. No. 3,822,786 (Marschall), U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,918 (Kirk), U.S. Pat. No. 4,053,399 (Donnelly et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,613 (Alig), U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,648 U.S. Pat. No. (Kuepper), U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,200 (Alig), U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,887 (van Gelder), U.S. Pat. No. 4,233,152 (Hill et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,255,262 (O'Cheskey et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,857 (Ottengraf et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,140 (Hurst), U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,755 (LaCrosse), U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,499 (Hinson et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,299 (Wang et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,480 (Hinson et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,811,705 (Puetter), EPO 261822 (Garrett), WO 93/24413 (Hinson) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,825 (Jones). None of these references, however, disclose the aspects of the current invention.
What is needed is a wastewater treatment system that has a small footprint, produces dischargeable effluent minutes after startup, requires virtually no chemical additions, is simple to operate, minimizes sludge production from biological activity, is constructed of the most durable components, and produces a high quality effluent exceeding most stringent effluent requirements day-after-day. What is also needed is a wastewater treatment system that can treat the same volume of wastewater in a smaller space and/or in faster time than currently existing systems to reduce the space occupied by holding tanks and treatment equipment.
What is also needed is a system that can accurately predict treatment compliance results to enable more efficient and predictable compliance success.